Hilton Village Shell employees quickly regroup after fire

NEWPORT NEWS— — Business wasn't quite back to normal, but it was getting there as employees worked to get the Shell station in Hilton Village back up and running late last week.

A vehicle flew off of Warwick Boulevard the morning of March 19, landing on a gas pump and causing a massive fire.

Store manager Debra Jarvis hit the gas shutoff button and she and cashier Karen Johnson ran out of the store, which didn't contain any customers at the time, Jarvis said. Johnson praised Jarvis' quick thinking, saying she saved not only the two of them but nearby homes and businesses from catastrophic damage.

"She's an angel," Johnson said.

Jarvis has had a long career in the business, and said she was just following company protocol that lists cutting the gas supply list first.

"That's why I said I couldn't drop the ball," Jarvis said. "You can't drop the ball when you're used to doing this, and everybody knows their job. And we go over it all the time, and even the company does that."

Cleanup started March 20, with necessary checks and inspections underway. The convenience store itself reopened March 21.

Friday morning workmen dashed in and out of the building, working between the gas pumps and the store's computer system to get the pumps up and running. Assessments were being done for repairs still needed and the store's glass, which cracked because of heat from the fire, had been replaced.

Jarvis said she had heard from lots of people, making sure everybody was OK and sending well wishes. The store's many regular customers from the neighborhood behind it missed the store where gas is often pumped for them.

"I felt fine the day it happened," she said. "I'm like: 'God is good. It's not my time.'

"I'm just thankful nobody got hurt and this neighborhood didn't get hurt. They say somebody's watching over us and I say oh yeah, I know that. Definitely."

More online

For more stories, photos and videos about the fire, visit dailypress.com.